Assistance for Isolated Children Scheme while travelling outside Australia

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There are rules about how long we can pay Assistance for Isolated Children Scheme payments outside Australia.

Rules for Assistance for Isolated Children Scheme outside Australia

If you or the student leave Australia to live in another country, your payment will stop on departure.

If you leave Australia temporarily we continue to pay you for up to 2 years, as long as the student continues to meet the eligibility criteria.

If the student travels overseas and:

is on an approved exchange program earning credit, remains enrolled at an Australian education institution and continues to incur the costs in Australia, we continue to pay you for the duration of the program, or

enrols at an approved Australian distance education institution and studies full time outside Australia for less than 12 months, we continue to pay you for 12 months

If the student has left Australia without having their overseas study approved, and you provide the information mentioned above, we'll reassess their eligibility.

When to tell us about your travel

You should tell us if you or the student leave Australia and:

you or the student are going to live in another country

you're leaving temporarily for more than 2 years, or

the student is studying outside Australia as part of a full time Australian course

the student is leaving temporarily and won't continue to study full time

Otherwise, you don't need to tell us that you or the student are leaving Australia. Australia's immigration department tell us when you or the student leave and return to Australia.

The easiest way to tell us about your travel plans is to use your Centrelink online account through myGov. We can tailor information on how it could affect your payments and concession cards.